Canadian skier Mollie Jepsen secured her first World Cup gold since 2021 in the women's Super-G at the FIS Para Alpine Skiing World Cup in Saalbach, Austria. Fellow Canadian Kurt Oatway also triumphed in the men's Sitting category on the second day of racing. Austrian siblings Johannes and Veronika Aigner completed a golden sweep across Downhill and Super-G events.
The FIS Para Alpine Skiing World Cup stop in Saalbach continued with Super-G races on 16 and 17 January, following exciting Downhill competitions the previous week. Athletes competed across various categories, showcasing high-level performances on challenging courses.
In the women's Standing Super-G, Mollie Jepsen of Canada dominated the second race, edging out Varvara Voronchikhina of Russia by 0.05 seconds for her first victory of the season and first gold since 2021. Jepsen had earned bronze in the opening race, where Voronchikhina took gold and Aurélie Richard of France claimed silver. Reflecting on her win, Jepsen said, “I am super happy with today. I’ve been pretty frustrated with my skiing all week and knew I had more in the tank. I skied the way I know I can and have been in training, I’m really happy to end the Saalbach series with a win.” She added, “It’s been a long time since I took the top spot in a World Cup. After all my injuries, I wasn’t sure I would ever wear a leader bib again and I am stoked to walk away with it, and with even more confidence going into the rest of the season.”
Kurt Oatway also boosted Canada's tally in the men's Sitting Super-G, winning the second race after finishing third in the first behind Jeroen Kampschreuer of the Netherlands and Takeshi Suzuki of Japan. Kampschreuer's failure to finish the second race allowed Oatway to prevail, with Niels de Langen of the Netherlands and Renè de Silvestro of Italy rounding out the podium. The top five were separated by just 0.59 seconds. Oatway noted, “It was a tight race today, first to fifth was separated by 0.59 seconds, and with me being the first sitter down I was sitting on edge for a while but managed to pull off a win today. The course set was very challenging and I could have cleaned a few things up, but the results speak for themselves. It feels good being the top spot after about a year and dealing with injuries.”
Home favorites Johannes and Veronika Aigner of Austria achieved a clean sweep in the Visually Impaired categories. Johannes won both Super-G races, beating Neil Simpson of Great Britain and Giacomo Bertagnolli of Italy, extending his streak to five consecutive World Cup golds. Veronika, guided by Elisabeth, also took gold in both women's VI Super-G events, followed by Elina Stary of Austria in silver and Sara Choi of Korea in bronze.
In men's Standing, Arthur Bauchet of France claimed his first speed gold of the season in the second race, with Alexis Guimond of Canada taking third after winning the first. In women's Sitting, Anna-Lena Forster of Germany earned her first speed gold since February 2025 in the second race after Audrey Pascual Seco of Spain did not finish.
The next stop is Slalom races in Feldberg, Germany, on 22-23 January.
